Labor Day weekend fatalities down, OVI arrests up

COLUMBUS – Labor Day weekend, historically known for being a dangerous time on Ohio roadways, has seen a reverse in this disturbing trend, with this year’s weekend the safest of the past five Labor Day holidays.

According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, 10 people were killed this year, a decrease of one fatality when compared to last year. Fatalities reached a five-year high in 2007, with 24 deaths - 10 being alcohol-related. Provisional data indicates this year was the lowest in alcohol-related fatal crashes in the past five years with three of the 10 crashes related to alcohol.

In addition to the decreasing fatalities, troopers were cracking down on dangerous drivers this weekend. Troopers arrested 693 drivers for OVI - more than a 14 percent increase - throughout the holiday reporting period of Midnight on Friday, September 2 through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 5.

“We warned motorists that troopers would be out in full force this holiday weekend,” said Colonel John Born, superintendent of the Patrol. “And the statistics show that they were - fatal numbers continue to decrease, while our enforcement numbers steadily increase.”

The Patrol saw the largest increase in aggressive driving citations - with an increase of nearly 30 percent when compared to last year. Overall enforcement was up more than 13 percent, with troopers stopping nearly 27,000 vehicles in which a citation was issued.

For a complete breakdown of the Patrol’s Labor Day enforcement, please visit statepatrol.ohio. gov\doc\Labor_ Day_ 2011.pdf